Statement from Kevin Longino, CEO of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and a transplant recipient, on today's HHS event announcing reforms to transplant system
(New York City, NY – September 18, 2025) – "The National Kidney Foundation applauds the actions announced today by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to strengthen and modernize our nation’s organ donation and transplant system. These reforms include expanded support for living donors through new investments in the National Living Organ Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC), intention to advance promising innovations like xenotransplantation and regenerative medicine, and stronger safeguards to ensure fairness and transparency in organ allocation.
This plan reflects priorities NKF has championed for decades: greater accountability across the transplant ecosystem, protection of the generosity of the 170 million Americans registered as organ donors and their families, and attention to the urgent needs of the more than 90,000 people waiting today for a kidney transplant. HHS’s commitment to advancing transplant technologies through FDA and ARPA-H also aligns with NKF’s Innovation Fund, which invests in accelerating new therapies and solutions for patients.
We are especially encouraged by today’s recognition of the crisis of kidney non-use. NKF has been sounding the alarm on this issue since convening the 2017 Consensus Conference to Decrease Kidney Discards. Yet the problem continues to worsen, even as 12 people die every day waiting for a kidney transplant.
NKF strongly supports continued bipartisan, bicameral efforts to modernize the U.S. transplant system. Our recent endorsement of the Permanent Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Fee Authority Act underscores our commitment to sustainable funding, robust oversight, and meaningful reform. Today’s announcement is another important step toward a stronger, more transparent system that patients and families can trust."
About Kidney Disease
In the United States, CKD remains an under-recognized public health burden that impacts 1 in 7 adults, and 90 percent of those affected are unaware of their condition. Approximately 1 in 3 U.S. adults are at risk for CKD, but less than 20% are assessed with guideline-recommended testing, eGFR and uACR. Risk factors for kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and family history. People of Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander descent are at increased risk for developing the disease. Black or African American people are about four times as likely as White people to develop kidney failure. Hispanic and Native American people experience kidney failure at approximately double the rate of White people.
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is revolutionizing the fight to save lives by eliminating preventable kidney disease, accelerating innovation for the dignity of the patient experience, and dismantling structural inequities in kidney care, dialysis, and transplantation. For more information about NKF, visit www.kidney.org.
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Contact:
Paul McGee 716.523.6874
Email: paul.mcgee@kidney.org